


What We Deserve

by PoorUnfortunateSoul



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Getting Together, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-09-20 01:18:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17012802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoorUnfortunateSoul/pseuds/PoorUnfortunateSoul
Summary: "You're catching feelings!" Bow laments."Catching..... feelings?" Adora asks, and Bow nods enthusiastically."Catching feelings, crushing, total heart eyes, going goo-goo for Glimmer!""I'm going to be honest," Adora says, "I don't know what that means, but I think you're right."----------------------Glimmer's mom wants to set her up with a boy from an ally kingdom, but Glimmer isn't ready to give up on the epic love story she deserves. The only out is for her to already be in a relationship, and Adora volunteers. After all, what are friends for if you can't count on them to be your fake girlfriend so you can have the epic romance you've always dreamed of?Glimadora week days 1-6!





	1. First Kiss

Everytime Adora thinks she can’t feel more out of place, something else has to come along and makes things even more disjointed for her. Glimmer’s looking at her with wide eyes filled with expectations, but Adora doesn’t know what she  _ wants,  _ so she’s stuck just staring at her outstretched hand. 

“What?” she asks, and Glimmer’s smile never drops. 

Glimmer always has endless patients when it comes to Adora, yet she still manages to somehow feel like utter crap when she doesn’t understand something. Glimmer’s never sighed, or seemed disinterested when she has to explain simple things Adora doesn’t get, but it feels like there’s a limit; like she’s constantly playing “how dumb can Adora get before Glimmer gives up.” 

“If we’re going to trick people into thinking we’re together, then we need to make it seem like we are,” Glimmer explains. “Couples here typically hold hands when they share mutual romantic feelings for each other.” 

Adora glances back down at Glimmer’s outstretched hand. She can’t remember the last time she saw Glimmer without her gloves, and there’s something about the idea of grabbing her naked hand that makes her nervous. 

“Like this?” she asks, gripping Glimmer’s hand.

Glimmer giggles and interlocks their fingers. Having someone else’s fingers in between hers feels weird, but not unpleasant. Glimmer’s hand is soft, but her grip is strong. It’s almost comforting. 

“Oh,” Adora says, and Glimmer’s smile turns soft. 

“The way you did it wasn’t  _ wrong _ ,” she reassures, “but holding hands like this has a more romantic connotation. The way you grabbed my hand is usually seen as more platonic.” 

Adora nods, making a mental note of it. 

“Romance isn’t exactly, uh,  _ big _ , in the Fright Zone,” Adora says. 

“That sucks. Romance is,” Glimmer stops for a second to sigh wistfully, “romance is  _ wonderful _ . Which is why I refuse to give it up.”

Adora nods. That part she did know - she’s seen Glimmer and her mom argue countless times since she’s arrived here, but none of them have been nearly as heated as when Glimmer’s mom insisted on setting her up with a boy from Frosta’s kingdom to ensure that even if the wishy-washy soon-to-be teen changed her mind again, they wouldn’t lose them from the alliance all together. 

Adore doesn’t completely get it because, like she said, romance is pretty much non existent in the Fright Zone. But, it’s become apparent that it’s incredibly important to Glimmer, so Adora didn’t even stop to think about it before agreeing to help her. 

“Okay,” Glimmer says, straightening out Adora’s dress. She fidgets when she’s nervous, something Bow calls self-soothing, so she lets her do it. “So, what’s our story again?”

“Uh,” Adora falters, because Glimmer is looking at her with her wide eyes again, “after all that stuff with Shadow Weaver, you weren’t sure we were ever going to see eachother again. You were overcome with emotions, and had to kiss me. We talked afterwards, and decided to give this a try. I do have one question though.”

“Shoot,” Glimmer says, situating a few of the baby hairs on her forehead.

“Okay, um, I’ve never been kissed,” Adora confesses, “I barely know what a kiss is, thanks to Bow’s mini crash course on dating yesterday, but what do I say if someone asks me about it?”

Glimmer laughs, and Adora feels her cheeks heat up. 

“Adora, I can promise you that  _ no one  _ is going to ask about a kiss! It’s kinda personal. You’re more likely to be asked to  _ not _ talk about it, than be asked  _ to _ talk about it. The most someone would ask is how it felt, and the only person likely to ask that is Bow, who knows that this isn’t real.” 

Adora tilts her head, trying to take it all in. They won’t ask about the actual kiss, but they’ll ask how it feels…. 

“Am I missing something, or are those the same things?” she asks, and Glimmer doesn’t even try to hide her amusement. 

Her eyes become shinier than usual when she’s amused with Adora’s antics.

“When people ask how it felt, they don’t mean literally. They mean inside, like did you feel fireworks or like being with that person is  _ right _ ,” Glimmer says, gaze turning dreamy. 

Adora crosses her arms, and looks at the floor. 

“I don’t know what that  _ means _ ,” Adora grumbles. 

Glimmer places a sympathetic hand on her upper-arm, and Adora looks up.    
“I know you don’t,” she says, “and that kind of breaks my heart. You deserve an epic romance of your own one day. We  _ all  _ do, which is why it means so much to me that you’re doing this for me. Thank you, Adora.”

Adora shrugs. It really isn’t a big deal, compared to some of the other things she’s been doing for Glimmer lately. Holding her petite hand and talking about how much she likes her and her shiny eyes hardly seems like a hard thing to do, everything else considered. 

Glimmer continues to stare at her, and Adora shifts uncomfortably. 

“What?” she asks.

“Can I kiss you?” Glimmer asks, and Adora’s heart leaps. 

She presses a hand to her chest. What was  _ that _ ? 

“I guess,” Adora says, “but I don’t know what I’m doing.” 

“That’s okay, just follow my lead.”

Adora feels like she’s been doing that a lot lately, so she falls in line easily. Glimmer places her hands on her cheeks, steps closer, and smiles at her.

“Okay?” she says, and Adora nods.

Glimmer closes her eyes, and Adora follows suit. Suddenly, Adora has Glimmer’s glossy lips pressed against hers, and oh. Her lips feel sticky and Adora hates the taste of artificial strawberries more than anything else, but it feels…. Nice. Good, even. She kind of doesn’t want it to end, and nearly whimpers when Glimmer takes her lips back. 

“Whoa,” Adora breathes. “Does every kiss feel like that?”

Glimmer giggles and shakes her head.    
“No, it’ll feel better when it’s someone  you have a crush on and not just one of your friends. But there! Now when someone asks how a kiss feels, you’ll know.” Adora highly doubts that kissing can feel  _ better, _ but Glimmer hasn’t lied to her yet. “Ready to go in?”

Adora cracks the first smile of the day, albit anxiously, and interlocks her fingers with Glimmer’s again. 

“Should we have talked about this right in front of the meeting room’s door?” Adora asks, and Glimmer shrugs. 

“Soundproof walls.”

“Ah.” 

Glimmer gives her another wicked grin, a secretive glint to her eyes, and opens the doors. 


	2. Cliche Tropes

Queen Angella is at the center of the table when they walk in, chatting quietly with Frosta’s bodyguard on her left. Frosta’s twisting short braids into her hair, followed quickly by unraveling them, looking as bored as ever. The boy Glimmer is supposed to be set up with, Yule, is on the Queen’s right. 

He’s dressed in the kingdom’s signature blue, and his hair is snow white. Bow called him ‘Jack Frost’ the first time they saw him, one of few references Adora understood. 

He smiles shyly at Glimmer when they enter the room, and something about it makes Adora’s stomach twist. 

“How nice of you to finally join us,” Queen Angella teases, and Glimmer gives her a tight smile. 

“Sorry, I wanted to show something to Adora on the way here and we lost track of time,” Glimmer says, through grit teeth. 

She’s been working on her temper lately. Adora knows she’s frustrated, but her and Bow are incredibly proud of her progress.

Queen Angella motions for them to sit, and Glimmer pulls Adora forward by their conjoined hands. Everyone notices their interlocked fingers then, and Adora forces herself to not shrink under the attention. Glimmer takes her hand back, and pulls out a chair for Adora to sit in. She started doing it after the whole, ‘Adora actually sat in a chair that isn’t actually free’ thing, and Adora greatly appreciates the relief it gives her anxiety. 

She sits down and scoots the chair in, trying to ignore the probing feeling on Queen Angella’s eyes on her face. Glimmer follows suit, and hooks their pinkies together. 

Glimmer gives her mom a big smile, and Queen Angella narrows her eyes suspiciously.

“Alright,” Queen Angella says slowly, “Glimmer, this is Noel. Noel, this is my daughter Glimmer.”

Noel smiles at her again. 

“Hi,” he says, reaching his hand across the table. 

Glimmer takes it without hesitation, “Hello.” 

Glimmer’s smile turns sickly sweet. Adora hates her forced smiles. The real ones are so pretty - her whole face lights up with them, and she basically becomes the embodiment of happiness. Especially with all her glitter.

Adora used to hate glitter as a kid. It gets everywhere, and you can’t ever get rid of all it. You’ll think you did, and then find someone in your sock drawer somehow. 

She doesn’t mind it much anymore. The little purple specks that are sprinkled on almost everything Adora owns are from one of her favorite people. How could she hate something like that?

Glimmer takes her hand back, and makes a show of wiping her hand off on her dress.

“Sweaty,” she says, cheerily. 

Noel ducks his hands under the table.

“Glimmer,” Queen Angella says, and it’s a warning. 

Glimmer holds her hands up in mock surrender. Adora sits through the whole thing in uncomfortable silence, trying to catch Frosta’s eyes to say hello. The other princess has her eyes locked on Glimmer, so Adora’s efforts are all for not. 

“Frosta, Noel,” Queen Angella says, getting their attention. “The proposal is for Glimmer and Noel to wed is on the table. You’ve both written and discussed your terms, and they’ve been accepted on our side.”

Adora can feel the anger radiating from Glimmer. She never got to see the terms before her mom signed them. 

Adora tries not to talk about it too much, and just lets Glimmer rant. Being raised in a ‘logic first’ kind of environment didn’t exactly put her in tune with feelings. If it were her being put up, Adora probably wouldn’t even mind. Romance wasn’t even something she thought about until two weeks ago, she doesn’t have the experience to let her miss it. 

“Wait,” Glimmer says, as Frosta picks up a pen to sign the contract. “I thought you said if I was dating someone, you couldn’t in good conscious do this?”

Queen Angella’s eye twitches. Adora gulps, and lowers herself in her chair. The eye twitch is always the calm before the storm.

“Yes, but seeing as you aren’t, we must go through with this Glimmer.”

Frosta watches with disinterest, and Noel looks about as anxious as Adora always feels in this room. You could cut the tension between Queen Angella and Glimmer with a knife on a good day, let alone on a fighting day. 

Adora doesn’t pretend to understand most of what’s going on, but she knows that a stable alliance with Frosta’s kingdom is incredibly important. It’s one of the most powerful kingdoms in Etheria, but it’s also run by someone who hasn’t reached puberty yet. Plus, Frosta is a huge stickler for the rules, and Glimmer isn’t. It’d be more surprising if Glimmer, Bow or Aodra didn’t do something to make Frosta pull out of the alliance again than if she didn’t.   

So Adora  _ gets _ why Queen Angella is doing what she’s doing. The rebellion needs Frosta, and her kingdom. She just kind of wishes Glimmer’s happiness wasn’t put on the line for it. 

“But I am,” Glimmer objects, touching Adora’s shoulder.

Adora looks at Glimmer, and she gives her a soft smile. Her eyes glint a little, and Adora’s insides warm. It’s a real one. 

“ _ What? _ ” Frosta says, taking an interest for the time. “Oh, gross!”

“Excuse me?” Queen Angella says.

Noel’s watching everything with confusion painted on his face. Frosta’s bodyguard doesn’t react to anything, but they usually never do. 

“Adora and I are together, mom,” Glimmer says, breathlessly. 

Queen Angella raises an eyebrow. 

“And when did this happen?” she asks, staring at Adora.

Glimmer is a master at lying. Adora isn’t. Never has been, and Catra could vouch for that. 

But Glimmer’s looking at her with those wide eyes again, and Adora refuses to let her down.    
“After all that stuff with Shadow Weaver, Glimmer kissed me,” Adora recites. “I was confused, because I don’t really get this whole romance thing, but Glimmer…. Glimmer makes me feel warm inside, and I feel safer with Glimmer than I ever have any other time of my life. I don’t know what I’m doing, but Glimmer always takes the time to teach me, and lets me fail and try again and I just… I really want to try this so, please, Queen Angella, let us?”

She can feel Glimmer’s eyes on her, and Adora holds her breath. Going off script was  _ not _ the plan, and she prays that it doesn’t out them. 

“That was beautiful,” Noel sighs, giving them a soft look.

Frosta makes a gagging noise, and Queen Angella looks like she’s processing things. Adora’s heart is hammering in her chest, and the only thing that’s keeping her anchored is Glimmer squeezing her hand. 

_ Stupid _ , she thinks,  _ that was stupid.  _

“Compromise,” Queen Angella says, and Glimmer groans. “You and Noel will go on the date that was planned for after the meeting, and we’ll see how you both feel afterwards.”

“How is that a  _ compromise?” _ Glimmer snaps.

Queen Angella never loses her graceful smile.    
“I’ll let you choose the location, and what activities you do, instead of them being my choice.”

“Deal.”   
Glimmer and Queen Angella shakes hands, and then Glimmer pulls Adora to her feet. They both curtsey.

“I’ll go get dressed, and then we can go on our date,” Glimmer says, and Noel smiles.

“Sounds good. I’ll be here.”

Glimmer gives him a real smile this time, and pulls them from the room. She maintains her composure until the doors shut behind them. Squealing, Glimmer throws her arms around Adora.

“Adora we  _ did it _ !” Glimmer cheers. “I mean, I still have to go on a date, but I’m pretty sure we’re in the clear. And that speech! I mean, dang Adora, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were in love with me.”

Glimmer elbows her and Adora shrugs. 

“Just said what came naturally, I guess.” 

Glimmer smiles and rests her hands on Adora’s cheeks. 

“Well, if  _ that’s  _ your natural instincts with romance, whoever you end up with is going to be so lucky! You’re so sweet and  _ adorable _ , Adora!” Glimmer praises, and Adora;s cheeks heat up. 

“Oh, well,” she trials off, not sure what to say. 

Glimmer giggles and drops her hands.   
“Okay, I have to go get dressed, but thank you again Adora! I so owe you for this.”

Adora nods. Glimmer skips down the hallway to get to her room, and waves goodbye to Adora. Adora starts missing her the second she’s out of sight. 


	3. Sneaking Out

Adora has never been very good at the whole “sit and wait” part of plans. She likes action, she likes moving. Restlessness has never sat well with her. 

Training used to keep her sated at the Fright Zone, but she realizes now that the constant training is what won’t let her relax. She’s been trying to kick the habit, now that Glimmer and Bow have made her realize that she’s not a machine, but relaxing while Glimmer is out with a total stranger isn’t working. 

Adora’s legs won’t stop moving, even though an ache set in a while ago. She physically can’t still when she’s not totally sure Glimmer is  _ safe. _ They thought Frosta’s guards were safe at the Princess Prom, and they ended up being Fright Zone  _ soldiers.  _ Who’s to say that Noel isn’t as well?

“That’s it,” Adora huffs, standing up. “I can’t take this anymore.”

Adora hops off of the bed, and walks over to the window. She puts her hands on the glass, and pauses. Logic tells her not to do it. Queen Angella was very specific about Adora staying in her room. 

Logic and reason might be strong points for Adora, but they’ve never matched well with her impulsive traits. Is sneaking out really worth making the Queen angry? 

“Psst, Adora!” Bow calls, popping up in her window. Adora shrieks, and tumbles back further into the room. “You coming or what?”

“What are you doing there?” Adora hisses, opening the window. 

“Spying on Noel and Glimmer, obviously,” Bow says. 

Adora adjusts her ponytail and sticks her head out the window to hear Bow better. He’s sitting on a tree branch, with a big smile on his face.

“Why?” Adora asks.

“Why not?” Bow counters.

He tries to play nonchalant, but his cheeks are dusted pink. Adora raises an eyebrow. 

“Fine, but only because I want to ensure that Glimmer is safe.”

“Why wouldn’t she be safe?” Bow asks, as Adora carefully slips out of the room and onto the branch. “She’s with Noel. He’s like, Frosta’s best fighter.” 

Adora scoffs, and tries to steady herself on the shaky tree. The drop down would hurt, but it wouldn’t be fatal. It’s still not something she wants to experience. 

“All the more reason to keep an eye on him,” Adora says, matter-of-fact. 

Bow shrugs, and starts his climb down. Adora follows carefully after, letting Bow catch her when she drops down. 

“Thanks,” she says, straightening out her clothes. 

“No problem.”

Bow leads Adora to Glimmer and Noel, who are standing by the small lake surrounding the outer edge of the kingdom. It looks like they’re skipping rocks, and Noel has his arm around Glimmer’s waist, guiding her wrist through the motion. The sight makes Adora feel vaguely sick. 

Bow pulls Adora into the bushes so they won’t be seen. They both settle in the dirt, and watch from a hole they make in the leaves.

“That’s so romantic,” Bow says, wistfully. 

Adora scrunches her nose. Glimmer shrieks in victory when her rock skips once more than Noel’s. He gives her a small smile and a quick high-five. 

“Not really,” Adora disagrees. “He taught her how to do it wrong, you’re supposed to find smooth rocks. They skip much easier.” 

“I don’t think doing it right is the point, the point is how much fun they’re having. Look at them, they look so happy,” Bow sighs.

Adora sniffs and crosses her arms over her chest.

“I  _ guess _ ,” she grumbles. 

Glimmer gives Noel a high-five when he wins the next round by two skips. He picked out a smooth rock, and Glimmer picked the kind he pointed out earlier. Definitely cheating. 

Watching them together makes Adora’s stomach burn, but she doesn’t let herself leave. She  _ won’t _ , until she’s a hundred percent sure Noel won’t hurt Glimmer. That’s what she’s here for, after all. 

“Doesn’t Noel look good in the moonlight?” Bow asks.

Adora shrugs. She supposes he looks  _ okay _ . The moonlight does his petite features a few favors, shining in the midst of his dark eyes. He’s cheeks are chubby, but it’s not apparent until he smiles and strikes you with the urge to pinch them. His snow white hair always seems to know the right way to fall, and frames his face perfectly.

He’s slim and feminine looking and Adora has to admit that Queen Angella definitely could’ve picked someone uglier. Still, it’s nothing to  _ Glimmer _ . 

Glimmer’s pink hair has always looked amazing in all kinds of light. It’s bright and unique, just like her personality. The adorable jumpsuit she’s always wearing shows off all her curves. Her own dark eyes don’t even need the moonlight to shine, they just  _ do. _

Noel might have pinchable cheeks, but everything about Glimmer makes Adora want to wrap her up and protect her from everything. She adores that Glimmer is so stubborn and strong that she wouldn’t ever let her, but the thought of Glimmer wrapped in blankets is a cute one to entertain. 

She might’ve over exaggerated it earlier for the sake of romance, but Glimmer really has done so much for Adora. She educates her without getting snappy, and helps her take care of her mental health better, something she’s never had the permission to do before. She let’s Adora relax and have a personality that doesn’t revolve around being a soldier. Glimmer makes Adora feel… nice. She hopes she makes Glimmer feel half as good as she makes Adora feel. 

“Hey,” Bow says, poking Adora’s side. “You okay? You kind of spaced out there.”

Adora rubs at her face, and nods.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking about Glimmer.”

“Glimmer?” Bow asks, “I asked about Noel, not Glimmer.”

“No, no, I just. Ugh. Noel looks okay, but Glimmer…. Looks perfect,” Adora says, shrugging uselessly.

Bow stares at her for a moment, before his eyes widen in realization. 

“You’re catching feelings!” Bow laments.

He gets in her face, and Adora leans back on instinct. 

“Catching…. Feelings?” Adora asks, and Bow nods enthusiastically. 

“Catching feelings, crushing, total heart eyes, going goo-goo for Glimmer!” 

“I’m going to be honest,” Adora says, “I don’t know what that means, but I think you’re right.”

Bow sits back, and reveals in his discovery. Adora falls back and looks up at the stars. 

“So, I have a, uh. What did you call it? Crush?” Adora says, and Bow nods.

He flops back with her and slides his arm around her shoulders. Adora leans closer to him for his body heat. She didn’t think to change out of her pajamas before coming to spy, and Bow is like a walking heater. 

“Welcome to the club,” Bow sighs sadly. 

Adora scrunches her eyebrows before realization hits her. Her eyes widen like Bow’s did earlier, and turns her head to look at him.

“Noel?” she asks.

“Noel,” Bow confirms.

Adora sighs, and looks back to the stars. Glimmer showed her the constellations once. She decided her favorite was Andromeda, solely based on how excited Glimmer was to show her it. 

“We’re kind of screwed, aren’t we?” Adora asks.

“Oh, we’re definitely screwed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite part of this week has been being able to express my absolute admiration for Glimmer and use making the fic from Adora's POV as an excuse.


	4. Pet Names

“What’s the next part of the plan?” Adora asks, slipping into Glimmer’s room the next morning. 

Glimmer peaks her head over the edge of her bed, and glares down at Adora. She isn’t exactly what one would consider a morning person, and Adora’s grown accustomed to the morning grumpiness. Give her about thirty minutes to wake up, and she’s her usual chirpy self. 

“Good morning, Adora,” Glimmer says, dryly. “What time is it?”

“Seven,” Adora winces, and Glimmer groans. 

She yanks the comforter back over her head, and Adora sighs. 

“I know, I know,” Adora says, “I’m not supposed to wake you up before ten, but I need to know what the next phase of our plan is.”

Glimmer groans again, and sticks a hand out of her mound of blankets to wave Adora off. Adora rolls her eyes foundly. 

“You know what I won’t leave until you tell me,” she sings teasingly, and Glimmer lets out her loudest groan yet. Adora laughs and pokes the hand Glimmer left out. “Come on, sleepy head.”

Glimmer makes a show of kicking all the blankets off, and sits up. She glares down at Adora, and Adora just smiles up at her innocently. 

“Fine,” Glimmer mutters, and Adora pumps her fist in victory. 

Glimmer teleports herself down to the floor by Adora, and gives her an unimpressed look. 

“Look, all we have to do is convince my mom that we like each other, more than Noel likes me. Which, honestly, won’t be that hard.”

Adora frowns, and watches as Glimmer walks away to the vanity in her room. 

“Why, does Noel not like you?” Adora asks, puzzled. Everything she and Bow saw yesterday would suggest otherwise, but she admits that she couldn’t stomach everything for much longer after the crush realization. “Who wouldn’t like you! You’re… you’re you!” 

Glimmer laughs and rakes a hairbrush through her hair. 

“Jeez Adora, you look like someone kicked your dog,” she teases. “He does like me. In fact, I think we could be good friends after all this stuff is over. He just doesn’t like me in a romantic sense. He  _ does _ have a thing for someone else we know, though.”

Something akin to relief floods Adora’s system. She chalks it up to having something to do with the whole crush thing, and makes a mental note to ask Bow about it later. Speaking of Bow… 

“Wait, he does?” Adora asks, popping herself into Glimmer’s face. “Who? Do I know them?”

Glimmer gives Adora a look and swats her off. 

“ _ Yes _ , you know them, and no, it’s not you if that’s what you’re excited about,” Glimmer says, and there’s something dark in her tone. 

Adora’s whole face crumples up at the idea of being with Noel. Sure he’s  _ pretty _ _ ,  _ but he’s also not Glimmer. Plus, Bow’s totally into him.  

Maybe Adora hasn’t exactly been friend of the year, considering all the Catra stuff, but she’s pretty sure getting together with your friends crush is a no go. 

“Anyways,” Glimmer says, when Adora fails to fill the silence, “I think I like someone else. I mean, I don’t think they like me back, nor will they ever, but it’s something.”

Adora’s stomach plummets to her feet. Glimmer likes someone. Someone that isn’t her, because Glimmer would tell her if it was, wouldn’t she? They tell each other everything, so of  _ course _ she would. So… it’s not her. Okay. That’s a lot to process. At least, it feels like a lot to process. Maybe it isn’t? God, she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know much about anything, lately. 

“Still, that doesn’t mean that I’m not willing to go down without a fight. So, the next phase of the plan is the same as where we started. Convince my mom that we’re disgustingly in love. Keep up those romantic speeches you gave, give each other pet names. That sort of thing,” Glimmer continues, when Adora still doesn’t speak. 

Glimmer looks over at her, and Adora tries not to let her face look as crestfallen as she feels.

“Pet names?” Adora asks, “Like what I called you earlier?”

Glimmer drops her styling gel back on her vanity, and meets Adora’s eyes in the mirror. 

“If you call me sleepy head, or pinky or some other variation of the two in front of my mother, so  _ help _ me Adora.”

Adora raises her arms in defense. Glimmer doesn’t even need to finish the threat for Adora to get it. 

“Okay, well, what about squishy, then?” Adora asks. 

Glimmer throws her arms in the air.

“What part of no offensive nicknames don’t you get?” Glimmer asks, and Adora’s whole face scrunches up again. 

“Offensive?”

Glimmer gets up from the vanity, and crosses her arms over her chest. 

“Yes, Adora, believe it or not, giving me a nickname about my weight is offensive.” Adora blinks in confusion, and Glimmer pinches the bridge of her nose. “What part of this aren’t you getting?”

“The weight part,” Adora says, playing with her fingers like she does everytime she feels embarrassed about not understanding something. “I wasn’t even thinking about your weight when I said it, I just meant your cheeks. I really like your smile, and when you do, your cheeks get squishy looking and it’s really cute. It makes you look adorable, I think, and like, fifty times happier, and I like it when you’re happy.”

Glimmer touches her own cheeks lightly.

“They do?” she asks, and Adora nods. Glimmer’s face turns pink, and she drops her hands. “Oh. Well. Then I guess that nickname is fine.”

“I mean, if you don’t like it-”   
“I do,” Glimmer cuts her off, and her cheeks get redder. “I mean, it’s fine. It’s, uh. Cute.”

Adora nods, as Glimmer gets impossibly rosier. She frowns, and presses the back of her hand on Glimmer’s forehead. 

“Are you getting sick?” she asks, and Glimmer swats her hand away. “Alright, alright, I’ll back off. But, what’s my nickname?”

“Uhh. My big, buff girlfriend,” Glimmer says, and Adora raises an eyebrow. “Look, I might, possibly, perhaps, maybe, probably have always had a thing for big, buff girls, which you are. And you especially are, when you’re She-Ra. It’s a nickname my mom would buy.”

Adora lets that sink in for a moment, before saying, “Wait, you think I’m buff?”

Glimmer snorts and grabs Adora’s arm. She squeezes her muscles, and Adora flexes on instinct. 

“Are you kidding? Adora you could punch me in the face and I’d thank you.”

“Thank me?” Adora asks, looking at Glimmer. 

Glimmer meets her eyes, and they both freeze. Their close enough that Adora can feel her breath on her cheeks, and there’s a pull in her stomach that tells her to get close to Glimmer. 

Glimmer studies her face, searching for something that Adora hopes she finds. Glimmer swallows thickly, and takes a step back.

“Uh,” she mutters, “we should go. Mom will be waiting for us, for the morning meeting about the princess alliance.” 

“Right,” Adora says, feeling dazed. 

Glimmer pulls her from the room by the hand, and Adora follows behind obediently. 


	5. Fighting Side by Side

“Adora, calm down,” Bow says, “It’s not like you haven’t had meetings with Glimmer’s mom before. You had one yesterday!”

Bow’s reassurance does nothing to quell Adora’s aggressive passing. If anything, she starts walking at a faster pace. 

“But that was a meeting about the princess alliance, not Glimmer’s future! All I have to do is sit and nod during those meetings, I don’t have to convince anyone of anything!” Adora argues. “What if I didn’t hold her hand enough? Or I didn’t have that starry eyed look you talk about all the time? What if I didn’t call her squishy enough!” 

Bow sighs, and stands up. He grabs Adora’s cheeks to make her stop moving, but she starts squirming in his grasp immediately. She feels like she might explode if she doesn’t keep moving. 

“Adora, you literally refused to call her anything  _ but _ your adorable little squishy yesterday. Also, you literally have a crush on Glimmer, and you’re incredibly obvious. Trust me, the Queen would have to blind to think that you’re not crazy about her daughter.”

Adora looks away.    
“Did I really call her an adorable squishy that much?” she asks.

She had meant to just call her squishy, but adorable always slipped out. Everytime she said it, she was thinking it, and it just slipped out without her permission. No one else was supposed to know that Adora thought Glimmer is adorable but her. 

“You called her an adorable squishy so much that Noel accidentally called  _ me _ that.”

Adora quirks an eyebrow, and pulls Bow’s hands from his face. 

“Wait, you talked to Noel? When?” she asks, and Bow shakes his head.

“No, nope, this about you and Glimmer, not me and Noel.”

He sits back down, and Adora crosses her arms over her chest. Bow refuses to meet her eyes. 

“It is,” she agrees, “but it doesn’t have to be. What happened?” 

“ _ Nothing _ ,” Bow declares, and Adora tsks quietly. “He still thinks he’s going to marry Glimmer! Nothing can happen. And nothing will.”

He says it in the same dark tone that Glimmer used when she talked about her crush. Adora is confused - when Bow first introduced the idea of crushes to Adora, he seemed excited about it. He made it seem like they were great, but everyone just seems to be suffering. 

“That seems to be the agreed upon consensus,” Adora sighs, sitting down next to Bow. 

“What do you mean?” Bow asks, but there’s a knock on the door before Adora can answer. 

Glimmer peaks her head into Adora’s room and Adora and Bow sit up straight. 

“Ready to go?” Glimmer asks.

Adora gives her a tight smile.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” 

Glimmer agrees to the sentiment with a nod, and offers Adora her hand. She takes it easily, and finds comfort in the familiar warmth that she couldn’t find in Bow’s assurances. Holding Glimmer’s hand has become a sort of soothing action, and it clears her anxieties. She be lying if she said she wasn’t going to miss being able to grab Glimmer’s hand freely when this is all over. 

“Hey, Bow,”Glimmer says, and he waves at her. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever, since all this crazy stuff started happening. Hang out at our spot later?”

“Definitely!” Bow agrees, grinning at her.  

Their conversation is overshadowed by Adora’s racing thoughts. She’s never thought about what happens after the Queen makes her decision today. Either way, Adora’s rule as Glimmer’s fake girlfriend is over. 

They’ll go back to being friends, she assumes. It’s not a bad thing, but it means no more hand holding, no more romantic speeches, and no more squishy. Adora knows that she’s lived without those before, Hell she only became Glimmer’s fake girlfriend like a week ago, but the idea of going back… sucks.

Not that being friends with Glimmer sucks. Glimmer is probably the best friend Adora has ever had, but she wants more.  

It doesn’t matter, though. If Glimmer wanted more, she would’ve said something. There’s been plenty of openings, like when Glimmer was fawning over her muscles yesterday, or the day before when they watched movies snuggled on her bed. If she wanted Adora, she would’ve asked by now.

She didn’t, though, and Adora has to come to terms with that. That, and the fact that she’s going to have to watch Glimmer date someone at some point. Someone that isn’t her. Adora’s heart squeezes. 

She’s ripped from her thoughts as Glimmer pulls her from the room. 

“My mom made up her mind,” Glimmer says, lowly.

“Yeah,” Adora says, even though she knew that already. 

Glimmer takes her to the meeting room, and pauses in front of it. She nibbles on her lower lip worriedly, and Adora places a hand on her shoulder. 

“Hey, are you okay?” she asks, and Glimmer jumps like she didn’t know that Adora was there.

“Yeah,” Glimmer says, and when Adora just sniffs, she gives, “No. No, I am not.”

Adora pulls her to the side, and lets Glimmer rest against the wall. Glimmer looks at the floor, and takes a deep breath. 

“What if it didn’t work?” Glimmer says, softly. “What if I don’t get to choose who I date? Don't’ get me wrong, Noel is sweet and funny, but. He doesn’t give me butterflies, you know?”

Adora blinks.   
“Uh. No. No, I do not,” she says, honestly.

Butterflies? Is that what happens when your crush doesn’t seem hopeless? Adora kind of just constantly feels like she’s going to throw up.

“Right,” Glimmer says, looking even more upset than before. “I guess you wouldn’t. Whatever, let’s just do this.”

Glimmer sighs, and pushes herself away from the wall. Adora feels like she did something wrong, but she can’t figure out  _ what _ . Was Glimmer looking for a different answer when she said the thing about the butterflies? Was she supposed to lie to her? Would she have felt better or worse if she had? 

“Kind of feels like going to battle,” Glimmer mutters, stepping in front of the door.

Adora hums in agreement. Talking to the Queen always feels that way. Adora doesn’t know what she ever wants Adora to say. Shadow Weaver always had Adora on one track, and Catra only ever wanted to hear that she was right. The Queen is… complicated. 

“Let’s do this,” Glimmer murmurs. 

She enters the room without Adora’s hand, and Adora swallows back the threat of tears.  _ What did she do wrong? _


End file.
